Gorilla Compound

Written by Donald McLeod

He is lookingFar beyond me Beyond the timeAnd space that holds him Contained by concreteIn his gaze I sense he remembersSomething he can no longer see Like the wayHis African mate Held their youngOn her broad back As she ambled awayFrom the babbling tourists Or the bitter tasteOf bamboo sprouts So dense and lushUpon his primordial tongue For a secondHe looks through me As if I wereA familiar painting Hed grown accustomedTo viewing As if I were a mirageHe had once run to And found to be emptyAs if I were A mere shape or smudgeOn his vista Of possibilityHe sits complacent And unamusedLike a giant Buddha Staring outWith blank acceptance At the irrational world